Stationary fire-extinguisher system.



R. L. COONEY.

STATIONARY FIRE EXTINGUISHER SYSTEM.

'APPLQCATlON FILED MAR. 20. 1917- Patented. Oct. 23, 1917.

1 ZQ BTZLZ. 6507:?

wilbneoo ROBERT L. COONEY, 0F ATLANTA, GEORGIA.

STATIONARY FIRE-EXTINGUISHER SYSTEM.

Specification of Letters Patent. Patented Oct. 23, 1917.

. Application filed March 20, 1917. Serial No. 156,085.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that 1, ROBERT L. COONEY, a citizen of the'United States, residing at Atlanta, in the county of Fulton and State of Georgia, have invented new and useful Improvements in Stationary Fire-Extilr guisher Systems, of which the following is a specification. v

This invention relates to improvements in stationary fire extinguisher systems of'that type wherein the operation of the system responds to and is initiated by a pressure disturbance developed in the distributing line. I

For the operation of systems of the type stated, it has been proposed to fill the leaders or laterals with a non-freezing fi re extinguishing liquid, a two-fold advantage being thereby secured, viz: the fire extinguishing liquid i'sdischarged immediately upon the opening of the sprinkler head and prior to the operation of the automatic devices, and the venting of the said liquid from a particular'l eader or lateral automatically dcv velops a suction impulse to which thefautoinatic devices, for example, chemical mixing devices, are responsive; and to transmit the said suction impulse to the automatic devices by a suction pipe suitably related to the distributing system.

Heretofore, in order to eliminate any substantial air space in the distributing system with a consequent tendency to the attenuation at the suction impulse and resultant uncertainty or delay in the operation of the system, the riser from the tank has been filled with non-freezing liquid and an auto matic check valve has been employed to support the column of liquid in the riser and to prevent said liquid from flowing into the tank. This checkvalve is objectionable in a number of respects, principally,

because it is uncertain and difficult to set.

The object of the present invention is to provide a fire extinguisher system wherein the pneumatic impulse may be developed by the discharge from the open sprinkler head of liquid normally stored in the leaders or laterals as heretotore but wherein the valve is wholly avoided and, at the same time provision is made against the attenuation of the suction impulse in consequence of any extensive air space in the distributing system.

An embodiment of the invention is illusfeatures of the inventionare incorporated.

' The invention is disclosed in its application to a chemical mixing system, wherein the principal supply of lire extinguishing liquid is derived from a tank 1 containing an alkaline solution with which a supply of acid maintained in a receptacle 2 is mixed to develop pressure for forcing the fire extinguishing liquid through the distributing system. The distributing system includes a riser 3 whose lower portion projects into the tank 2 nearly to the bottom thereof. The said riser extends to the top of the building to be pro tected, and according to the present invention is connected with a vertical supply pipe 4 from which extend, in the usual manner, the various leaders or laterals 5, each equipped with suitable sprinkler heads or distributing valves (3. The pipe 4 and the leaders or laterals 5 are normally filled with a non-freezing fire extinguishing liquid.

The suction impulse by which the opera tion of the system is automatically initiated is transmitted by a pipe 7. The mixing of the chemicals may be effected in any desired manner and the invention is, therefore, not concerned with the particular construction and arrangement of the acid bottle 2. F or example, the acid bottle may, as shown, he of the well known invertible type, discharging its contents consequent to its inversion,

which comprises a latch pin 0 engaging the,

top of said acid bottle, a pressure operated plunger 10 carrying said latch pin,a-nd a cylinder 11 in which the plunger 10 is movable. In the embodiment disclosed, the'cylindcr 11 is secured at the lower end of the pipe 7 and the pl ungcr 10 is provided with a pressure equalizing pin-hole 12.

According to the present invention, a suction chamber 13 is provided at the upper end of the pipe 4, said chambcrhaving' at one side thereof a domed extension 14'into which a vertical log 15 of the pipe 7 pro- 19 and at its lowest point is provided with '-a drain book 20.

The object of the \ater seal between the 'ehemloer l3 andgthe riser 3 is to. prevent'the air in said riser from attenuating the SllC', tion iinpulse developed by the discharge of the non-freezing fire extinguishing liquid "from an open sprinkler head and transmitted by the pipe 7- to the plung In the operation oi" the system, the suetion impulse developed in the chznnher i3 is transmitted by the pipe 7 to provide for the chemical mixing operation. In the present embodiment, this is eii'ected by an upward movement of the plunger 10in consequence of the greater pressure acting at the time of the suction influence on the under faceof said plunger. Upon the disengagement of the pin 9 from the bottle 2, said bottle over-turns by grexity and its acid contents mixes With the solution in the tnhli l, the liquid being forced from snit tank by the developed high pressure. When the pres sure is developed in the tank 1, the liquid flows through the riser 5, the pipe 16 and the chamber 13 into the pipe e and thence to the lender or lateral of the open sprinkler head. The extension 14 of the chamber 13 provides for the development of an air cushion or seal which prevents the liquid from flowing into the end of the pipe 7.

I claim as my invention 1. In a fire extinguisher system of that type which includes a tank, a riser extending from the tank, means cooperating with the tank for supplying fire extinguishing liquid and a pipe for transmitting a suction impulse to initiate the operation of said means, a vertical liquid-containing pipe to which the leaders are. connected, a suction chamber at the upper end of the vertical pipe and to which said impulse-transmitting pipe is connected, and a Water seal maintaining connection between the upper end of said riser and said suction chamber.

2. In athe extinguisher system of that type which includes a tank, a, riser extending'from the tank, means cooperating with the tank for supplying fire e xtingulshing liquid end a pipe for transmitting a suction impulse to initiate the operation of said means, a. vertical liquid-conteining pipe to which the leaders ere'connectecLa suction" chamber stvthe upper end ofthe vertical pipe and to which said impulse-transmit ting'pipe is connected, and :1 U-shaped pipe connecting said suction chamber and the upper end of said riser.

3. In a fire extinguisher system of that type which includes atenlr, sriser extend mg from the tank, means cofiperating with the tank for supplying fire extinguishing liquid and a pipe for transmitting a suction impulse to initiate the operation of said means, a vertical liquid-containing pipe to hichthe leaders are connected, a suction chamber. at the upper end of the vertical pipe, a water seal maintainingconnection between the upper end of said riser and "Witnesses 2 Cn'znn BURCH,

l'VIILIAl-ii 1D. BURCH. 

